


paper bags and plastic hearts

by ludibrium (etherealism)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Humor, M/M, Supermarket!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-14 04:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7154441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/etherealism/pseuds/ludibrium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>soonyoung is love-struck<br/>jihoon just wants to clock out on time</p>
            </blockquote>





	paper bags and plastic hearts

**Author's Note:**

> "paper bags and plastic hearts  
> all are belongings in shopping carts  
> it's goodbye  
> but we got one more night"  
> \- boys like girls, "the great escape"

"If you go to aisle five, you should be able to find what you're looking for," Jihoon informed, raising his arms in the direction of the aisle to properly guide his customer. "If you can't find it, I'll be right here for you," he added with a charming smile to reciprocate the woman's gratitude. Once he was sure the lady reached her destination, Jihoon let out a deep breath and brushed the wrinkles out of his vest. Staring at the plate on his chest with his name written in bold, dark letters, Jihoon began to quietly encourage himself. 

Only a few more weeks of working shifts at the supermarket and he would be finished with paying for his fall semester classes. Just a few more weeks of awkwardly smiling at customers and holding in lines of profanity towards the children who knock everything off the shelves. Jihoon silently nodded to himself in agreement, and cheered at the idea of freedom from overly priced college tuition.

And the more he mulled over it, the job really was not all that bad. The store made sure to give him his paycheck on time and offered leftovers, which conveniently became both his dinner for the night and lunch for the next day. He felt himself get along with the other workers, and could partially understand the co-worker bond that people had mentioned before. Really, the job wasn't all that bad.

"Hello, love of my life! Customer service, please service me by joining me for a coffee during break," chimed a voice, breaking through Jihoon's thoughts of peace and ultimately cracking his idea of an enjoyable work environment. Jihoon inwardly groaned at the person in front of him, holding back the desire to place his head in the register and slamming it shut a few times.

Jihoon stared at the assistant manager label taunting him, and slightly tilted his head upwards to look at the person in front. Wearing a halfhearted smile, Jihoon quietly cursed his schedule for overlapping with the schedule of the person he was trying to avoid the most; the store's assistant manager. 

"Yes, Soonyoung, is there something you need help with? And not something unrelated to the store," Jihoon replied, efficiently cutting off Soonyoung's advances. Soonyoung pouted at the following response, but brightened up when he thought of an answer for the boy in front of him.

"Well, you work in this store. And you see, I do too," Soonyoung emphasized as he pointed towards his name plate before continuing, "So technically, on basis of my standards, this is completely store related." Jihoon sucked in a breath as he prayed for the conversation to pass by.

"Me, the assistant manager, asking you, the supermarket employee, on a date! This is completely store related as you can see from the positions," Soonyoung grinned, pointing at their name plates once more for a final emphasis.

Jihoon stared at Soonyoung before slowly nodding and lifting a finger, asking for a moment to think. Watching his employee, Soonyoung widened his eyes when Jihoon opened the cash register and laid his head inside.

"I'm sorry, but I currently have a problem with the register. Maybe some other time," Jihoon answered before attempting to slam the register shut. 

It wasn't too late to apply to another job.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Spraying the fresh greens with water, Jihoon inwardly sighed with relief at the thankful thought of being far from Soonyoung's line of sight. Although working produce was not exactly the position he had in mind when applying for the part-time job, anything was considerably better than having the assistant manager stare at him in a daze. 

Despite the ease of working customer service, Jihoon weighed the pros and cons and figured that any position hidden from Soonyoung's view would be heavily weighed towards the positive side. Besides, produce was simple when Jihoon broke it down; vegetables needing the occasional moist and fruits displayed with the bruises away from the customers. 

Feeling confident and a bit proud at his decision to continue with his job, Jihoon rolled up his sleeves and started to reassemble the fruit into the pyramids that they once were. It was when he was close to being complete when a brunette head popped out from behind the crates.

"Don't you think you and I are just the perfect _pear_?" The taller boy in front of Jihoon mused as he picked up two pears from the stack. Picking up a cantaloupe, Soonyoung added, "Hey Jihoon, you're one in a _melon_! Get it, like a million?"

Jihoon stared with a twitching eye as he pointed at the cantaloupe in the other's hand. 

"We _can't elope_ ," Jihoon deadpanned.

Looking for a new job sounded like a pretty decent option.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Stocking up the shelves could be seen as something therapeutic if thought of in a more positive direction. Agreeing with his thoughts, Jihoon looked in pride at the stacks of cans sorted in color order. Granted, stacking cans is not really an ideal way to spend one's day, but organizing was something Jihoon always enjoyed, and being paid for it had to have its own benefits.

Jihoon grabbed the cans of soup concentrate from the crates and started to pile them into neat towers. If anything, Jihoon could pretend to be an architect for a few hours; building temples and palaces for the soup royalty. 

_Tomato soup for the vegetarian nation and chicken noodle for the bullion nation._

Cracking his first genuine smile of the day, Jihoon reached to grab a can at the same time as another hand did. Jihoon begged all higher powers in existence for the hand's owner to be anyone else, but made a mental note to speak with said higher powers when his eyes came in contact with Soonyoung's.

"Hey there, Jihoon! Clean up on aisle five!" Soonyoung chimed enthusiastically. 

Jihoon tilted his head questioningly when he noticed that his current aisle was number five. As if silently asking for an explanation, Jihoon continued to stare at the other.

"There's nothing to be cleaned here?" Jihoon pointed out with a shrug.

"What do you mean? Don't you see how my heart is spilled all over the floor for you?" Soonyoung gleefully piped as he spread his arms widely to draw an image.

Jihoon gaped widely at his assistant manager and took deep breaths while holding a tight grasp onto the soup can to prevent it from becoming catapulted. 

Being open to multiple jobs is always a good thing.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

"For today's specials, there is a half-price markdown on yesterday's meatloaf to pair up nicely with the discounted assorted vegetable mix found in the frozen aisle. Additionally, 2-liter soda bottles are currently going for a dollar a pop," the voice momentarily paused to chuckle. Jihoon rolled his eyes as he heard a silent _Soonyoung, it's not funny if you're the only one laughing_ in the background, and proceeded to continue bagging groceries.

"Continuing on, the sale on halibut is really a hell- oh, I can't say hell on here?" The loudspeaker resonated through the supermarket, bringing out a few snorts here and there as well as the occasional glare from shopping mothers. "The halibut is apparently on sale, and it's heavenly," the voice continued, taking a pause as if asking for an okay. Jihoon finished ringing up his last customer before his lunch break when he heard the closing announcement, almost dropping the woman's tray of eggs.

"There is also a buy one, get one free promotion going on right now. That's right, I know everyone is dying to stock up on those instant packages of potato flakes," Soonyoung chimed through the loudspeaker. Taking a pause before continuing, Soonyoung added, "Also, this is specifically for employees only, but I heard there's a 'go on one date, get another one free' promotion going on too."

Feeling his grip on the woman's groceries tightening, Jihoon tried to shrug off the supermarket announcements and continue with his duties. 

"Did you want paper or plastic?" he asked, voice of the loudspeaker mumbling in the background. As he accepted the woman's change, Jihoon opened the cash register before effectively dropping all of the coins. 

"Final announcement of the day! Cashier number 7, Lee Jihoon, you are looking rather lovely today. Quite astonishing if I may say so," the voice mused before turning off with a elongated buzz. The customer in front of him shifted her head to look at his name plate then slowly tilted upwards to look at the number on his register. Unsuccessfully holding in a grin, the corners of the customer's lips betrayed and broadly showed themselves to the cashier. 

Trying to crack a small smile back because _the customer is always right_ , Jihoon froze at his post and began to seriously consider different job options.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

Cart duty. Basically the last job that anyone would want in the sweltering heat of summer, but Jihoon saw the benefits in being away from the building. Although he was unsuccessful in warding Soonyoung off inside of the store, it would be a difficult feat for the assistant manager to leave his post just to follow Jihoon outside. Nodding at his foolproof thinking, Jihoon began to collect the scattered carts from the parking lot.

"Just a few more weeks," Jihoon muttered to himself as he avoided incoming cars while balancing a hefty amount of carts in both hands. Wiping the sweat off of his forehead, Jihoon looked towards the store and squinted upon recognition of a mess of hands waving towards him inside of a shopping cart.

 _If I have done at least one thing right in this world, that person will not be Kwon Soonyoung._ Jihoon hoped, but quickly deflated when he saw the familiar assistant manager tag reflecting back at him. 

"Jihoon! Jihoon! Look! I'm racing you!" Soonyoung called towards the smaller boy, limbs frantically moving along as an arm pushed the cart with a broom. Jihoon felt his eye twitch again, and he closed his eyes shut before opening them and walking towards the other. 

Soonyoung waved his arms in excitement towards the other and cheered to himself on a successful attempt at gaining Jihoon's attention. 

"Jihoon! I see that you want to join me as well! Wait, what are you doing?" Soonyoung spluttered when he noticed Jihoon's hands grip onto the bar of the shopping cart. Widening his eyes at the tiny grin on the other's face, Soonyoung began to violently shake his head.

"We can talk this out! Jihoon!" Soonyoung yelled. Giving a final grin, Jihoon slowly shook his head sideways before pushing the cart and letting go. 

As his own name echoed throughout the parking lot, Jihoon began to consider working at the fast food chain near his house.

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

"And so, according to the store's code of conduct, I have no other choice but to fire you," Soonyoung teared, moving two fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose. "It's the only way," he added with a dramatic tone.

Jihoon looked at the desk in front of him before moving his gaze through the window behind Soonyoung. Ten minutes ago, Soonyoung had called him into the assistant manager's office, and Jihoon went with a slight dread that the shopping cart incident would become the final straw in him losing his job. Pushing open the door, Jihoon leaned his head in to peek at the other, and swallowed loudly when he noticed the tense expression on Soonyoung's face.

He had prepared himself for the onslaught of anger and string of reprimanding phrases from the other. He had prepared himself for the _"Your behavior was beyond belief and against everything we stand for"_ speech. What he had not prepared himself for was this.

"What you're saying is that I'm being fired, not for my behavior, but for a nonexistent relationship?" Jihoon skeptically questioned. "Is this even legal?" he added.

Since Jihoon stepped into the office, the taller male had explained that workplace relationships were strictly off-limits, and in order for their _"love to grow its wings"_ , he would have to ask that Jihoon give up his job. 

"I'm glad you understand, Jihoon. It's sad that corporate would do this, but we can't let them destroy what we have," Soonyoung stated, placing his hands over his mouth to cover the sound of tears flowing.

Incredulously staring at Soonyoung, Jihoon slowly rose from his seat. Lifting his arms up to show surrender, Jihoon began to back out through the door.

"You know what, McDonald's can't be all that bad to work at."

 

**Author's Note:**

> if you follow me on twitter, you will know how i recently became obsessed with a show called superstore (if anyone watches it, please let's discuss)  
> anyways, this came out of it so! hope you enjoyed it~
> 
> kudos and comments are much appreciated! ♡  
> also, i'm happy to meet new friends who love svt as much as i do so!  
> ♡ @eostower ♡ tweet away!


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